Highlights of the Yucatan

Fly direct from London to Cancún. On arrival, transfer to the 3-star Hotel Adhara Cancún, in the downtown area, for an afternoon check-in and overnight stay.

Depart Cancún this morning to begin your discovery of the Yucatan Peninsula, driving first to Ek Balam (Black Jaguar), with forty structures hemming the courtyards and passages of its walled enclosure, a huge stairway to the top of its 30m-high Acropolis, and carvings varying from serpent heads to a stucco frieze of angels. Continue, with lunch included, toward the colonial town of Valladolid, stopping en route at the Cenote Saamal Selva Maya for a dip in the open-topped, rock-encircled, natural swimming pool. Arrive at Valladolid in the early evening for overnight at the charming 3-star Real Hispano Hotel.
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Drive to the Puuc Region hub of Mayan history and culture, to visit its standout site at Uxmal, where temples are adorned with crests, masks and panels of hieroglyphs, the Governor’s Palace is a superbly preserved pyramid, and the Nunnery Quadrangle is hemmed by four buildings, each decorated with Chac figures. We visit a traditional rural home and enjoy a typical Yucatan lunch with the Mayan family. Continue to the harbour city of Campeche, arriving in the early evening for a short tour of the Spanish-colonial enclave, replete with cobbled streets, pastel-painted mansions, and restored baroque façades. Two nights at the centrally located 3-star Hotel Plaza Colonial.
(B, L)

A morning tour takes you off the beaten track to ancient Edzná, its splendid buildings giving a glimpse of its glorious heyday, from remarkably well-preserved stuccoed temples to a unique five-storey pyramid. Return to Campeche for a walking tour of the city’s historic heart, its 16th-century rampart walls built to defend the then wealthy city from pirate attacks.
(B)

Drive north to Bécal, a small town with a big reputation as the home of the Panama hat. The town has a long tradition of weaving the palm-frond headwear, and we see the hand-dug ‘caves’ where much of the work is carried out, as humidity keeps the fibres flexible for handling. Continue to Mérida and enjoy a drive-through and on-foot tour of the ‘White City’, its limestone churches built with the remnants of ruined Mayan temples. Two nights at the simply styled 3-star Hotel Caribe.
(B)

A refreshing tour today takes you to the Gulf Coast village of Celestún, the gateway to a Biosphere Reserve, where pelicans, herons, and pink flamingos flock to its beautiful lagoon. Enjoy a boat trip on the lake and in the maze of mangrove channels, the habitats of fabulous fauna from iguanas to endangered sea turtles.
(B)

Travel by road to peaceful Izamal, known as a town of mystic and magic, famed for the golden-yellow façades of almost all its buildings, painted to celebrate a papal visit in 1993, and focused on the Convent of San Antonio de Padua, a majestic landmark, filled with religious artworks. Continue to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Chichén Itzá, its astonishing ancient structures set above a cenote river. Two nights at the characterful 3-star Villas Arqueológicas hotel.
(B)

Explore Chichén Itzá on a morning tour, seeing the huge field of the Pelota ball game, with its astonishing acoustics; the Temple of Warriors, with bas-reliefs of gods, eagles and jaguars, set amid the stunning Complex of a Thousand Columns; and the jewel in a 6sq km crown of astonishing structures and sculptures, the Kukulkan pyramid (aka El Castillo), now believed to cover two earlier temples, one inside the other in Russian-doll style. Continue to the intriguing rock formations of the Balamcanché Caves, used in early Mayan culture as a subterranean, ceremonial chamber.
(B)

Drive to the Yaxunah Mayan community for an insight of their culture, where a full day of activities includes a tasting of corn-based drinks, a visit to the weaving workshops to see the hand-crafting of hammocks, and a demo of preparing the ‘recado’ spicy paste for the ‘cochinita’ pork, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in the earth of a fire pit, later enjoying the resulting dish for lunch. After taking a walking tour through Yaxunah’s archaeological zone, complete the day with a swim in the deep, blue waters of Lol-Ha cenote pool; and travel to the Mayan Riviera for two nights at the 4-star Ocean Coral & Turquesa Hotel, on the shore of Punta Coral in the area of Puerto Morelos.
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Relax with a day at leisure to enjoy the beach and the hotel’s spa, sports, seafront pool, and restaurant / bar facilities.
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At leisure until the transfer to Cancún airport for your return flight to London.
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Morning arrival at London.